Thursday, September 25, 2014

Recommendation from Tumblr.Summary:
Three months after her boyfriend's death, Morgan uploads a picture of him to a social media site for 'closure'. In doing this, she finds out that her may be alive as the site prompted to tag someone- who looks exactly like him. Realizing she doesn't know a lot about her boyfriend of 2 months, Morgan sets out to find out who this 'twin' is and why her boyfriend was so secretive. Morgan goes into detective mode and finds out a lot of answers to questions she has. This fast paced novel really delves into the lies and mysteries in a small town and found in your own family. Is Morgan's boyfriend really alive? No. Does he have a twin? No. But the person she does find is even better than him. Does she bring down an evil man who was thought to be dead? Yes. Does she give the town peace? Yes.

Read it to find out how! It's a super quick read. I read it in 2 hours.

My Thoughts:
LOVED IT! The conversations are quick and well written. Morgan is a quick-thinking teen who is motivated to find the truth. Her best friend is a great side-kick but can definitely hold her own. Evan is adorable (come on, dimples, *swoon*). I think he's the one she's been looking for anyways. Their relationship is real from the start, a little weird under the circumstances but real. What I really liked about this book is the active presence of parents. It's so great to finally have parents who care! Who actively parent in a book. It's so life-like. So hooray for that, Harrington. It's a face paced read and you will enjoy it. It's maybe a little easy to figure out but it's such a great read that you won't care. Read it.

5 out of 5 stars! I love quick reads that are also quick-thinking and have strong characters.

This book has a very pretty cover, which is why I really wanted it. It's also a great read so it wasn't chosen in vain.

Summary
Incarnate introduces Ana a nosoul, someone who is new to the world and hasn't been reborn like everyone else. Everyone else is 5,000 years old or more, but not Ana. She is the first nosoul to ever be born. She has no friends, no one that loves her. Even her mother hates her. Then on her 18th birthday, she sets out for the city in hopes to find some answers. Along the way she runs into some trouble and is saved by Sam. Sam is the only person who has ever talked to her nicely or at all. He's the only person who hasn't shunned her and told her she was a nosoul. He calls her a new soul. Along the way, Ana and Sam's relationship blooms, forming into this love that Ana has never known. Ana also finds out Sam is the man from the past thousands of years whose music has inspired her to keep going and kept her sane all these years. Their passion for music and the arts fuels their love making their relationship deeper and more real.
Once Ana is allowed to enter the city, everything goes from bad to worse. She is put on curfew, made to check in, and get a proper education (something her mother slacked on). If it wasn't for Sam, Ana wouldn't be allowed to look into her father and also why she was born. There is always something that gets in her way. Will she find out why she was born? Why she replaced Ciana? Yes. She does. And man, it's not what you expect! Her father is the reason (Spoiler). He created a way to stop souls from being reborn.

My Thoughts:
I really liked this book. It took me a few days to read it because it does start out slow and Ana's pity party does get on your nerves which makes you want to get away from her for a bit. But if you can get passed her pity party of 'why me' then it's really a great story. The idea of people being reborn for thousands of years over and over again, it's interesting. The author really does a great job weaving this tale of being reborn and remembering your past lives. It's truly awesome! Ana is a good character, she's stronger than you realize at first and does eventually become the person Sam believes in. Sam is the person you would want to meet along any journey. He's passionate, artistic, and (in my head) handsome. He's what Ana needs in the book- someone to believe in her. Because he also needs someone to believe in him. Their relationship is very romantic and fast and just what you think of when you think of teenagers. Even though Sam is thousands of years of old, in this life, he's Ana's age.
Like I said, it's a great story and the details of this world are extraordinary. It's a great read and makes you think.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Background:

Before I married my husband, I started working in the public library in my hometown. While working there, I had the very great pleasure of working with Mrs. Renee Hague. She is hilarious, chic, and super knowledgeable about her work. I have always found genealogy fascinating (I blame my mother lol) and seeing the passion that Mrs. Hague and her counterpart, Mrs. Sherry, have for this subject is amazing and mind-blowing. I wanted to interview Mrs. Hague because she's someone you just can't help but love and she knows her stuff. I was also inspired by the t.v. show "Who Do You Think You Are?" which helps celebrities trace their ancestry using ancestry.com plus professionals in the field all over the world. After watching this show, I was very excited about interviewing someone in the genealogy field and immediately thought of Renee Hague- who always dresses very fashionably.

The Interview!

1. Tell me 6 things about yourself.

- Ilovemy work and continue to learn new things each day.

- I’m happily
married To Doug Hague( 35 years)and
have three grown children who are my pride and joy.Joseph is a composer living in Oakland, CA;
Laura teaches Special Education in Daphne, AL; and Nelson lives in Quito,
Ecuador and is starting a Wellness business (certified massage therapist) there
and also has a certification for teaching English as a second language.

- I play flute,
recorder, ukulele, Indian drums and rattles,and collect instruments.

- My degrees are
in English and Combined arts therapy and I’ve found a way to apply my college
educationto my job at the library.

- My favorite poets are Rumi and William Blake and I have a
file on my computer with my favorite100
books.

2. How long have you been working in genealogy?

I’ve been working in genealogy and local history
for 13 years,and my grandmother, Archie
Gautier,started training me for the job
when I was a child.She worked as
curator of the “Old Spanish Fort” for over 30 years and I help take care of her
archive collection today!

3. What is the most interesting thing about genealogy?

The interconnectedness of people and things
amazes me.I get goosebumps at workon a daily basis because of random coincidences
(or are they?).

4. What's the hardest part about genealogy?

For me, the hardest part of genealogy is citing
sources, because I get so excited about finding things and forget to write
downthe source in my eagerness to find
the next thing!Citing sources has to be
one of the most important tasks of a genealogist. (Check out Richard Lackey’s
book on the subject).

5. Have you traced back your genealogy? Are you related to anyone famous or interesting?

Yes, I’m working on75 family lines and I find most of my
ancestors are interesting.My Indian
ancestors are who I am most interested in now. While they are usually the
hardest to document, I’m lucky to have found some of them in the records.A couple of them marriedFrenchmen whohelped found the Gulf Coast.

6. For beginners, what are some tips for tracing your genealogy?

Do your homework before you begin your research
online or at the library.Interview your
family and get the names of people and the places where they were, as well as
dates.Write all of this down in an
organized fashion (family group sheets, etc…) and be sure and cite your
sources.When you begin in earnest, it
will be easier to find the documents if you’ve done your homework.

7. Can you tell me about genealogy. General or specific things.

When I first started working in this
department,I found it creepy to be
looking up obituaries on a daily basis.Sherry Owens,one of my first
teachers, taught me to look at the obit as a life span of a person (as opposed
to a death).That clicked and I’ve been
hooked ever since.

Once you have dates, names and places….it’s time to start
putting it all into a historical context!Maps become fascinating and begin to look like art!History comes alive and is no longer boring.

It helps me to read and write historical fiction when
researching.I can remember all the
facts if I’m interested in the story!Otherwise it’s too dry.

8. The t.v. show, 'Who Do You Think You Are' shows
celebrities tracing their genealogy. How long can it take to trace a
family lineage?

People spend their entire lives researching
their families.We have people waltz in
the library thinking they can find everything in a day with a few clicks on the
computer.That is not true!!“Who do You think You Are” is a fascinating
program, but fosters the myth that genealogy is easy.